11 Ways to Fix iCloud Photos Not Syncing on Your Mac BYDILUM SENEVIRATHNE
UPDATED JUL 8, 2022
Have iCloud Photos stopped syncing on your Mac? Here are all the best troubleshooting tips you can use to fix it.
1. Activate iCloud Photos
If you’ve just finished setting up your Mac, your photos won’t sync unless you activate iCloud Photos. Here’s how to do that:
1. Open the Photos app.
2. Select Photos > Preferences from the menu bar.
3. Switch to the iCloud tab and check the box next to iCloud Photos.
You can then switch between the Download Originals to this Mac and the Optimize Mac Storage sub-options. The former option downloads all original copies of your photo library to your Mac, while the latter uses low- resolution placeholders to conserve disk space. Syncing your iCloud photo library to your Mac for the first time can take a while, so don’t expect your images to appear right away.
2. Check Your Apple ID
Do you use multiple Apple ID accounts? It’s a good idea to confirm that you’re signed in to your Mac using the same account you use on other devices you want to sync photos with.
To do that, open the System Preferences app and select Apple ID. You’ll find your Apple ID listed on the page that follows. Then, if needed, use the Sign Out option under the iCloud tab to switch accounts.3. Force Quit the Photos App
Sometimes, the Photos app on macOS can stop syncing for no reason. Force quitting and reopening it usually helps fix that. Here’s how:
1. Open the Apple menu and select Force Quit.
2. Select Photos.
3. Click Force Quit.
4. Relaunch the Photos app from the Dock or Launchpad and check if it starts syncing your photos again.
4. Check the iCloud System Status
t’s also a good idea to confirm that nothing’s wrong with iCloud Photos on the server side. To do that, open Apple’s System Status page and check the status next to Photos. If you see any issues listed, you’ll need to wait it out until Apple resolves them.
5. Restart Your Mac
Rebooting your Mac can fix random app- and network-related problems. If you haven’t already, open the Apple menu and select Restart. Uncheck the Reopen windows when logging back in box before
clicking Restart again.
6. Free Up Some More Space
If your Mac is close to running out of storage, freeing up some space might help to get your photos syncing correctly again. The Storage Management panel is an excellent place to start. Open the Apple menu and select About This Mac > Storage > Manage to access it.
Work your way through the recommendations before digging into the storage categories on the sidebar. Check out our other posts to learn more about reclaiming storage space on your Mac.7. Flush the DNS Cache
A corrupt or obsolete DNS (Domain Name Service) cache can prevent your Mac from connecting to Apple’s iCloud servers. Thankfully, deleting the DNS cache forces your Mac to resolve each web address from scratch. Here’s how you can do that:
1. Open the Launchpad and select Other > Terminal.
2. Type the following command:
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
1. Press Enter.
8. Repair the Photo Library
If none of the solutions above help, it’s time to fix potential errors within your photo library. Your Mac’s Photos app is capable of detecting and correcting them by itself. Here’s how you can make do that:
1. Exit the Photos app. If the app appears frozen, force quit it instead.
2. Hold down both the Option and Cmd keys and select the Photos icon on the Dock or Launchpad.
3. Select Repair from the screen that appears.
Depending on the size of the library, the Photos app may take a while to carry out repairs. Check if your photos have begun syncing after that.
9. Delete the Sync Index
You can also try deleting the index files that hold the Photos app’s sync data. That will prompt your Mac to sync your entire photo library from scratch. If you want to go ahead, here’s how:
1. Quit the Photos app.2. Open the Finder app and select the file that contains your photo library. By default, you should find it in the Pictures folder.
3. Control-click the Photos Library file and select Show Package Contents.
4. Go to the folders labeled resources > cpl > CloudSync.noindex.
5. Delete all files within the CloudSync.noindex folder.
6. Relaunch the Photos app.
10. Update the Operating System
Updating your Mac’s operating system helps mitigate problems caused by a buggy instance of the Photos app. If iCloud Photos still isn’t syncing, try doing that now:
1. Open the Apple menu and select About This Mac.
2. Select Software Update.
3. Select Update Now.
11. Reactivate iCloud Photos
Disabling and enabling iCloud Photos on your Mac will force the Photos app into syncing your photos correctly again. To do that, open the Photos app and select Photos > Preferences from the menu bar. Then switch to
the iCloud tab and uncheck the box next to iCloud Photos. You have the option to download a copy of your photos on iCloud before deactivating iCloud Photos—select Download.
Restart your Mac. Then follow that by revisiting the Photos
app’s Preferences pane. Finally, check the box next to iCloud Photos again.Get the Photos App on Your Mac in Sync Again
The fixes above should help you get the Photos app to start syncing images as usual on your Mac. If you run into the same issue again, make sure to run through some of the quicker fixes above another time. For example, force quitting Photos, restarting your Mac, or repairing the photo library can get things moving in the right direction most of the time.
That said, poor internet connectivity can also introduce sync issues on the Mac. If you notice sync issues with other apps as well, take a few minutes to optimize your wireless network.
